High school is a time where we are given the liberty to express ourselves and find who we are. For some, it takes finding a bunch of new hobbies and seeing what sticks. Others grow up knowing what they love and do it for most of their life. In this category, we find freshman Anna Lusson.

Lusson’s greatest passion is dancing. For the past 11 years, she’s been honing her skills and enjoying every step of the way.

“I’ve been dancing since I was four, so I don’t really remember what inspired me to dance. I honestly tried it out when I was little and really loved it, so I stuck with it,” Lusson said. “Right now, I do ballet, jazz, contemporary, and lyrical dance. I also dance at a studio called Kaleidoscope Dance in Evanston.”

Seeing as Lusson has been dancing for roughly 75% of her life, there must be a very strong force that pulls her in every day.

“My favorite thing about dancing is mainly how it makes me feel, like when I’m dancing, nothing else matters, and it makes me feel very powerful or graceful. The music and movements are always so fun and exciting as well,” Lusson said.

All of her years of hard work have paid off. There are a handful of achievements that have stuck with Lusson over her 11 years.

“I remember … when I made it into the competition performing group when I first did my splits, and this year when I made it to the next level,” Lusson said. The level that she was promoted to is the second-highest-ranking, the first being elite.

The role of a competitive dancer comes with the obvious – competitions! In Lusson’s experience, “there isn’t one winner necessarily, but they give every dance a score. They do first, second, third overall scores, and I have won first overall before.”

Besides winning impressive titles like first overall, Lusson has had many takeaways from dancing that aren’t as tangible.

“Dance has taught me to work hard and work towards my goals,” Lusson said. “It can sometimes be pretty difficult at times being in a sport and having school, especially depending on how long I have dance each day, but I will say having danced for so long every day has taught me to be very time efficient and I use all my study halls, and any extra time I have in a school day, to get work done if I have to.”

While Lusson doesn’t know for sure what her future holds, she plans on continuing dance in some capacity. “I do know that I want to dance in my future, whether it’s professionally or just taking some classes in college and when I’m out of school,” Lusson said. In the nearer future, she’s sure that she’ll be joining Poms or Orchesis next year.

Considering Lusson has been dancing for so long, it’s no wonder that she has made many friends, like Niles West sophomore Bridgit Bui.

“I’ve known Anna for over ten years, and every time I go to her recitals, she lights up the stage. Her technique and flexibility has improved tremendously throughout the years. When working with Anna, she picks up quickly and is a fast learner. I can’t wait to dance with her again in the future,” Bui said.

Outside of the world of dance, Lusson loves to watch the “Harry Potter” movies, or any movie starring Daniel Radcliffe! She also loves listening to Taylor Swift and The Beatles. Besides listening to music, Lusson loves to hang out with her friends, one of whom includes Afra Abdul, who describes her as a “really hardworking person and someone who is fun to be around.”

With this being said, congratulations to Anna on being at a senior level for dance. And best of luck to her, and her dancing!